salad ideas!

anybody have any really good salad recipes? i'm so bored of the typical! for instance, i had a salad from saladworks today- chicken, craisins, corn, carrots, sunflower seeds, crisp apple slices, and pumpkin vinegariette, absolutely delish, and would NEVER think of it all together!! anybody have any other creative yummy recipes?

That sounds amazing...

Is Saladworks a national thing? That salad sounds soooo good (minus the chicken lol). Do you like spinach? I made a great salad with fake chicken, avocado, tomato, f/f mozzarella, banana peppers, baby carrots, and balsamic spray. Salads are SO wonderful. I love food you can be super creative with!

I like cottage cheese over romaine with nuts , goat or feta cheese, red peppers, maybe sundried tomatoes, and a dole cup of mixed fruit with the juice.  The juice is a great substitute for salad dressing.

okay this is my favorite salad ever and it's a great one for spring/summer because the produce is so good:

romaine and baby spinach, strawberries, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette--something about this combo is magic in a bowl

i also like:

 a little cottage cheese with chickpeas over romaine lettuce

tomato, mozzarella and basil with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil

try out some new nuts or jarred peppers/olives for a new kick or a cheese you've never had before. you can also buy roasted red peppers or marinated artichoke hearts......wow i love salads.

sparkle- that salad sounds SOOOO amazing. omg. thanks for that suggestion.

thanks for all of the responses!  and kortlyn, i think saladworks is a national thing, but i have no idea. i just know its around me. i'm from jersey.

oh, an i LOOVEE baby spinach!!!

mmm i love all those salad ideas!!

I'm not a fan of salad works though, i find them over priced for a salad..:-/ 

I had a wonderful salad tonight, and I'm not even much of a salad-eater.

I first froze 4oz of tofu, and last night when I transferred it to the fridge to thaw, I put about two tablespoons of light Italian dressing in its baggie.  Tonight, I drained the marinade in a pan and added enough water to cook about 1/4 cup of tri-color couscous (easy grain to make; add boiling water and fluff!) and in another pan, I seared the tofu.  When it was cooked, I added about an ounce each of onion and tomato, and cooked until soft.  THEN, I added about another tablespoon of light Italian dressing to that with enough water to make it sauce-y (like a vinaigrette).

On my plate, I put a heaping serving of baby greens, dumped the couscous atop that, then poured the tofu-veggie mix atop that with the dressing remnants from the pan.  I then sprinkled it with about a tablespoon of Parmesan.

Oh my.  It was...yes.  I hope you try it and enjoy it. =)

(Note: I'm sure you could use chicken in place of the tofu, but I don't think it's safe to reuse the marinade to cook the couscous.  Just use a small splash of Italian in the water you boil your couscous in.)

This is a place just up the street from me - if you read their 'House Salads' you can get a few ideas   http://www.vitalingredient.co.uk/?show=house_ salads

A good spinach salad with egg, red onion and bacon is always nummy.

And sometimes I make one with feta cheese, strawberries, candied walnuts, and a few other things.  yum.

I'm not real big on typical salads with a lettuce base.  I do love fresh spinach, but it's hard to find here.

What I usually do is cut up whatever veggies and fruits I have on hand and pile them on a plate.  I don't consider what might 'go together' because you never know what hidden, delightful combination you'll end up with. 

Carrots, tomatoes, beans (of any sort), bell peppers, cucumber, mushrooms, strawberries, apples, nuts ... literally anything.  Then I look at the plate and search for what's missing.  Protein?  Add an egg, lean meat, or cheese.  Fiber?  Not usually a problem.  If it's already a lot of food, I'll supplement the meal with a snack later on.

I love salads, but give a plain salad with the typical cucumber and tomatoes and I would be BORED! (unless it's a Greek salad). I love to cook so I've come up with my own gourmet salads.

- romaine lettuce, chicken breast, avocado, and raisins. (walnuts optional) Vidalia onion dreesing

-baby spinach, white beans, sun dried tomatoes, red peppers, and orzo. (feta optional). Balsamic vinegrette

-romaine lettuce, chicken breast, blue cheese, candied pecans, cranberries, green onions.

-romaine lettuce, chicken breast, green apples, sharp cheddar cheese.

-very lightly steamed broccoli, thinly sliced carrots, and snow peas. Thinly sliced red pepper, green onion. 1/2 a chicken breast and about 6 shrimps. 1/2 cup asian noodles. Mix it all like a salad with light peanut sauce. Serve room temp.

-squash, zucchini, red peppers, red onions, asparagus, garlic, etc...roasted in the oven and tossed with balsamic vinegrette.

Here a few tips:

-Have lots of lettuce to bulk up your salad. (I like about 200gr worth)

-Chop your lettuce into very small pieces rather than having huge leaves.

-Use your favourite dressing, but just 1 tbsp. The key is to put all your salad ingredients into a big bowl, add your dressing, then using tongs mix the salad until the dressing is mixed in well.  This way the flavours will be on every piece, rather than having just the few top pieces of your salad drenched with dressing and the rest doesn't have any flavour.

Enjoy!:)

Thanks for this post- lots of great ideas!

 I have one more to add that I LOVE - a chinese noodle salad.  Romaine, green onions, canned mandarin oranges (drained), lightly toasted almonds, and crushed ramen noodles.  I add chicken to make it a meal. For your oriental dressing (amounts are approximate - off the top of my head - it may need tweaking): 1/3 cup sesame oil (vegetable oil is ok too), 1/4 cup rice vinegar (white vinegar is ok too), 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp sugar (if you like a bit of a sweet taste) - makes 4 - 6 servings. Refrigerate what you don't use.  It makes a nice marinade too.

SaladWorks is sooo expensive!  Expect to pay eight or nine bucks for a salad and roll.  I guess that is a normal lunch price for some people, but I can get a giant bag of baby greens from my local farmer's market for five dollars that will last all week for me and my husband. 

I will have to try some goat cheese, that sounds tasty!